Electric coupling for cars.



P. WINSOR & c. CORLISS.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-23, I914.

1,167,608. Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

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P. WINSOR & C. CORLISS.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR CARS.

APPLICATION men 1mm. m4.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

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P. WINSOR & C. CORLISS.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR CARS.

APPLICATION LED 1AN.23,1914- 1,167,608. Patented Jan.11, 1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL WINSOR, OF WESTON, AND CYRUS CORLISS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELECTRIC COUPLING FOR CARS.

memos.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1916.

Applicationfiled January 23, 1914. Serial No. 813,985.

drawings representing like parts.

to provide a means of arranging a plurality of coupling contacts in sucha way, that when the-faces of any two of such pluralities are broughttogether, like circuits will be connected, the arrangement at each endof each car always being identical with any other, and still doing awaywith the necessity of intermediate connections betweeen the members forthe purpose of connecting like circuits.

To this end, each or either end of a car is provided with a couplingterminal, having a plurality of pairs of contact members, each pair ofcontacts being the terminal of one of thewires to be coupled, and theplane containing any pair of contacts being substantially parallel tothe plane on which the car is operated, with the members of each pair ofcontacts located on diametrically opposite sides of and substantiallyequi-distant from a line substantially at right angles to theaforesaid'planes, said line being common to all pairs of contacts.

The coupling terminals are carried by supports at the ends of the carsin such a manner that when two cars are coupled together, the pairs ofcontacts for corresponding wires are in the same plane, and the abovedescribed lines for the cooperating pairs of contacts are coincident. Q

When cars so equipped are coupled as described, the contacts forcorresponding wires are in electrical contact, thereby mak;

ing like wires electrically continuous. The coupling terminals on thesupports at the ends of the car when viewed from the opposite ends ofthe car, are exactly alike. These and other features of this inventionwill be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is an elevation of the adjacent end portions of two railwaycars coupled together and provided with coupling terminals embodyingthis invention. Fig. 2, a side elevation and section of the couplingterminals shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3, a front elevation of one of theterminals shown in Fig. 2. Figs. to S, modified forms of couplingterminals. Figs. 9 and 10 diagrammatic views to illustrate the circuitconnections, and Fig. 11, an elevation of two cars with a modified formof support for the coupling terminals.

Referring to the drawing a, .7), represent two cars of any suitable,usual or desired construction, such as now commonly used on elevatedelectric railway systems. The cars a, b, are provided with the usualdraw or coupling bars 0, (Z, both of which in the present instanceproject beyond the ends 10, 12 of the cars and form supports forcoupling terminals 6, 7", by which the conductors or wires on one carare connected with like wires of the other car.

Each of the coupling terminals 6, f, is provided with a plurality ofcontact members, which have certain parts located in a planesubstantially parallel with the plane on which the our travels, and onsubstantially diametrically opposite sides of and substantiallyequi-distant from a line substantially at right angles to the firstmentioned plane.

F or sake of clearness, the plane in which the members of a pair ofcontacts are located, may be designated the horizontal plane, and theline from which the members of said pair are equi-distant may bedesignated the vertical line. The coupling members c, f, may be providedwith various forms of contact members. In Figs. 2 and 3, the contactmembers are represented as movable and rigid, that is, the movablemember is shown as a plunger 13, backed up by a spring 1%, and the rigidmember is shown as a block 15.

In Fig. 3, the terminal member 6 is shown as provided with five pairs ofmovable and g d members 13, 15, with the movable and five pairs ofcontacts are numbered 17, 18,; 19, 20,21. The movable and llgLCl members13, 15 of the coupling terminal-7, are arranged in pairs and connectedin a like manner, but are arranged so that when coupled with theterminal 6, the contact members of terminal f are reversed to thecontact members of terminal 6. Fach car is provided at one end with acoupling terminal e andat itsopposite end with a coupling member 7, sothat when one end of the car as a is coupled tothe other car 6, theterminal 6 cooperates-with the terminal f, and when the car a, isreversedand its opposite end is coupled to the car b,the couplingterminal f on the car a will couple with the terminal 7 on the car I),as clearly shown in the diagrammatic Fi s. 9 and 10.

In Fig. 9, two pairs of contact members 01 each terminal 6, f, areshown, and it will be observed that when the contact members of theterminals 6, f, are viewed by a person looking toward the ends of thecar, both pairs of contact members are arranged exactly alike, and whenthe contact members.

of each pair are dit erent in construction, as represented in Figs. 2,l, and 6, the contact members otone terminal as e are reversely arrangedwith relation to the contact members of terminal f, when considered withre lation to the longitudinal center of the car, but are exactly alikewhen looked at from the opposite ends of-the car.

The re ersal of contact members with respect to the longitudinal centerof the car. is especially noticeable when male and female contactmembers are used. In Fig. 9, the contact members of the terminal 6 oncar a are supposed to make contactwith the contact members of terminal 7of car I). and in Fig. 10, the car a. is supposed to be reversed .andterm nal f thereof engages terminal f of car 6. The members 13, 15 ofthe coupling terminals may be of any deslred construction, and thecontact members of the various pairs of contacts may be arranged withboth movable and rigid members on both sides of the vertical plane 16.as represented in Fig. 3. or all the movable members may bearranged onone side of said plane and all the rigid members on the other side ofsaid plane as represented in Figs. 4 to 7. In Figs. 4 and 5, the members13 are shown as plugs, and the members 15 as sockets. and in Figs. 6 and7. the members 13 are shown as springs and the members 15 as flatstrips.

In Fig. 8, the contacts 13, 15 are of like construction and arerepresented as abutting contact members, which are formed by theopposite ends of bent metal strips. In the arrangement shown in F 8,three bent metal strips are shown, which correspond to the connectingwires 17,18, 19 of the arrangement shown in Fig. 3, and the oppositeends of said metal strips correspond to the In Figs. 6 and'7, six pairsof contact mem- -bers and siX line wires are shown, and in Fig. 8, threepairs of contact members and three wires are shown. I

In Fig. l, the bars a, (Z, wh1ch serve to couple the cars together areshown as constituting the supports for the coupling terminals, and itwill be seen that when the coupling bars 0, (Z, are coupled togetherautomatically as commonly practised, the terminals 6, f, carried'therebyare automatically connected, which dispenses with the flexible cable or]umper now commonlv employed, and also avoids the necessity of effectingthe electrical connection of one carwith another by manual labor. It maybe preferred to employ the coupling bars 0, (Z,

as the supports for thecoupling terminals, but it is not desired tolimit the invention in this respect, as the supports for the couplingterminals may be otherwise located, ast'or instance, as shown in Fig.11, wherein the supports for the terminals e, f, are shown as locatedabove the cars a, b, and are suitably constructed to provide for up anddown, horizontal and longitudinal movements. T 0 this end, the supportsare shown as levers or arms h, z, pivoted at ,7 is, to rods m, n, whichslide in tubes, 0,;0, pivoted at q, r to the roofs of the cars. The rodsm, 'n are capable of sliding in the tubes 0, 79 and are backed up in amanner well understood by helical springs W, to provide for thelongitudinal movement of thesupports, and the pivots is, 7', take careof, the vertical movement thereof, while the pivots 0, 1' provide forthe horizontal movement. The supports are provided with suitable meansshown as lugs or fingers s, t, which gather and center the saidsupports, when the cars are coupled together. 7

The wires connecting the terminals 6. 7, may and preferably will beprovided in practice with a suitable switch. not shown,

when the with wires or electrical conductors, of electrical couplingterminals carried by and located at the opposite ends of said car, eachof said coupling terminals having a plurality of pairs of contactmembers, with the contact members of each pair connect-ed electricallytogether and to a single electrical conductor, a plurality of said pairsbeing located in the same plane with the members of each pair onopposite sides of a plane at right angles to the said plane and withboth members of each pair equi-distant from said latter plane, wherebythe car can be coupled directly at either end with another car, equippedexactly the same, and connect like electrical conductors in one car withthe same electrical conductors in the other car or cars irrespective ofwhich ends of the cars are coupled together.

2. The combination with a car provided with wires or electricalconductors, of electrical coupling terminals carried by and located atthe opposite ends of said car, each of said coupling terminals having aplurality of pairs of contact members, with the contact members of eachpair connected opposite sides of a plane common to all the pairs and atright angles to the planes in which the contact members of each pair arelocated, and with both members of each pair equi-distant from saidlatter plane, whereby when two cars equipped identically are coupledtogether, each electrical conductor in the coupling terminal will beautomatically connected to exactly the corresponding electricalconductor in the coupling terminal of the adjacent car irrespective ofwhich ends of the cars come together.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL WINSOR. CYRUS CORLISS.

lVitnesses J. M. AYER, M. F. HARLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I. C.

